Silent Night, Holy Night
by Philip S
Summary: Excedo Inferi 10: After everything that went down recently, the gang tries to put together a happy, apocalypse free Christmas Eve for all involved. What are the odds of all the big bads in Sunnydale taking time off to enjoy the season? Surprisingly good.
1. Joyce

**Silent Night, Holy Night - Excedo Inferi #10  
by Philip S.**

Rating: PG-13  
Disclaimer: All characters you recognize from BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and whoever else chipped in. I own but the plot and the few original characters.  
Note: This is Excedo Inferi's version of the Season 3 episode "Amends"

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Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Buffy and Angel's return from Hell drew the attention of Richard Wilkins, dark wizard and Mayor of Sunnydale. To learn more about his opponents, Wilkins hired Danielle Burg to pose as Buffy's private teacher. Wilkins also has to contend with Sebastian Khan, vampire master and his former partner-in-crime. The Scooby Gang have their own problems. Apart from trying to beat Buffy's addiction to Angel's blood, they must deal with the memories of the entire world going to Hell, a brief change in history caused by the Vengeance Demon Anyanka.

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Part 1: Joyce 

Putting plates on the table, Joyce couldn't help but think how very much things had changed since the last time she had made preparations for a Christmas dinner. So many things had happened since last Christmas. Her life had turned upside down, inside out, and she had been forced to look at some things in a whole new light. Not least of which herself and she hadn't much liked some of the things she had seen.

Some part of her mind took perverse pleasure in putting together a list. Okay, so she hadn't known about the existence of vampires and demons last Christmas, though a lot of clues had most definitely been there. She also hadn't known about Buffy being a supernatural warrior chosen by destiny to defend the world last Christmas. That was mostly due to her own ignorance, she had to admit. After all, how many other mothers regularly washed blood stains out of their daughters' clothes?

Last Christmas she had thought that Angel was nothing more than some college student giving her daughter history lessons. Oh, she had suspected there might have been more to it than that, but never in her wildest dreams would she have suspected him of being a 250 year old vampire with a soul who had fallen in love with her daughter.

Also, last Christmas her daughter had still been some twenty-odd years younger than her. Now, thanks to a trip to Hell where time flowed differently, she was roughly the same age, probably a few years older. Not that she looked the part, but it showed in her behaviour and maturity. Her daughter was now a grown-up many times over. She also had yellow demon eyes and vampire teeth, but that was another story.

Their last Christmas dinner had been for two, just Buffy and her. Willow and Xander had made a brief visit, but hadn't stayed. This year, well, she was putting a lot more plates on the table. Quite a lot more.

Aside from Buffy and herself, there was Angel, of course. He and her daughter seldom went anywhere without the other. Hardly surprising, really. Having spent roughly thirty years in Hell together, they were as close as two human beings could be without being connected at the hip. At first Joyce had been far from happy about that, but she was learning to accept it.

Then there was Faith, the new Slayer now living under her roof. Faith was both very much like Buffy and totally different. A young girl burdened with too much responsibility, forced to live through things no child should have to endure. Yet unlike Buffy she relished in being the Slayer, at least most of the time.

Rupert Giles, Faith's legal guardian and Watcher to both her and Buffy, was also coming over. Joyce was not particularly thrilled about him being there. Their recent encounter under the influence of magical chocolate notwithstanding, she didn't like the man. Not really because of who he was as a person, but rather because of what he represented: A group of men who sent young girls, children, into battle against monsters, fully knowing that they would get a new one the moment the old one died. Joyce had nothing but contempt for the Watchers as a group, no matter how noble their goals.

Finally, there was Buffy's circle of friends. Willow was a Jew and her parents were very much opposed to any activity that might even remotely relate to Christmas. Xander, from what she understood, took every opportunity to spend time somewhere other than his parents' house. Cordelia's parents apparently believed that showering their daughter with money was all the parental affection she needed. They would be on some ski trip or other during the holidays. And finally there was Oz, Willow's boyfriend and werewolf. She didn't know anything about his family situation, but he'd be coming over as well.

Nine people in total, none but two of them related by blood, yet a strange kind of family nevertheless.

"Need any help, Mrs. S?"

Joyce looked up to see Faith coming down the stairs. It was still early in the evening and the girl would be heading out for a final patrol before they all sat down to dinner later on. She was already dressed the part, tight leather pants and a barely-there tube top. The jacket draped over her arm was the only concession Faith made to the low temperatures. Low for California, that was. This country hadn't seen a white Christmas in human memory.

"I'm pretty much set, Faith, thank you," she replied, smiling. Faith might not realize it, but the girl had almost completely dropped her tough-girl-façade, at least around the house. It was still firmly in place whenever she headed out, but when with Joyce she behaved pretty much like a teenage girl should. At times it was hard to believe that she was a mystical warrior put on this world to fight vampires.

"Great. I'll be doing a quick sweep, then head to the mall for some last-minute shopping."

Two days ago Faith had realized that pretty much everyone intended to give presents to each other for Christmas. The fact that this came as a complete surprise to the girl saddened Joyce to no end, but the results had been funny in a way. Faith had gone into a shopping frenzy, set on getting something for everyone. From what little Joyce had seen the girl was quite creative using her limited allowance for maximum effect. Still, it appeared she hadn't gotten everything yet.

Joyce had noticed that Faith had seemed to be in a deep funk for quite some time, starting about three or four weeks ago, but didn't know the reason. She knew something strange had gone down around the time, she'd had a lot of really horrible nightmares, but no one had supplied any details. The entire group had been pretty depressed for a while, she'd noticed, so she hadn't called anyone on it.

The funk seemed to have passed somewhat and the spirit of the season was very much present. Joyce just hoped that Christmas would pass quietly and that everyone would have the chance to enjoy the holidays without any vampire slaying or demon decapitating interfering.

She had mostly accepted the fact that her daughter (and her adoptive daughter, too) were leading violent, potentially short lives. But she was still a mother and wanted her girls to have a merry Christmas. She wanted them to spend a nice evening with their friends and families, stuff themselves with food, sing Christmas carols, and open their presents with that glow in their eyes that only kids on Christmas seemed to have.

She just hoped that wasn't too much to ask.

"I'm off then," Faith yelled from the door. "See you later!"

"Bye, Faith, and be careful!"

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Richard

**Part 2: Richard**

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"Is that the last thing I need to sign, Agnes?"

Richard Wilkins III looked up from the document he had just put his signature under -something about a new regulation regarding the use of speed boats in the Sunnydale harbour area- and felt quite tired. He was also feeling a cramp in his hand.

"That was it, sir," his new secretary replied. Ever since Diane's unfortunate death he'd gone through several different new secretaries, not content with any of them. Agnes was shaping up pretty well, though.

"I am very glad to hear that. It is Christmas Eve, after all. People shouldn't have to work late on Christmas Eve, right?"

"The downsides of being a public official, sir. Your job is never done."

He smiled, liking the way she appreciated his sense of humour and didn't feel too intimidated by his presence. She was also a decent typist and knew shorthand, something that was no sadly longer a given among those who sought work as a secretary. She might just be the one he kept on permanently.

Or at least until his Big Day, then she'd probably die with the rest, but this was not the time to be thinking about that. It was Christmas, after all.

"Well, Agnes, I think at least for today it is. Time to get into the holiday mood and away from all this dreary paperwork. Will I be seeing you at church tonight?"

"My husband and I will be there, sir."

"Good, good! It is important to remember our values on a day like this. It is sad enough that many people only embrace the concepts of peace on Earth one day of the year, but we should make the most of it."

"Certainly, sir. Anything else I can help you with before we close the office for the holidays?"

He waved her off. "Oh no, I just need to get a few items from my desk, lock some things in the safe, and then I'm off, too. You go and get with that husband of yours, Agnes. I imagine you have better things to do this fine day than spend time with your old boss."

She smiled at him, wished him a merry Christmas, and was off. Richard looked after her, then sighed and sat down behind his desk once again. There was one last phone call to make before he could head home himself. Picking up the receiver he dialled the number from memory.

"Hello, Ms. Burg? This is Richard Wilkins."

"Mr. Wilkins," Ms. Burg answered. "What a pleasure to hear from you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Burg. I just wanted to inquire about the state of your young protégé before taking time off for the holidays. How is Ms. Summers doing with her studies?"

"Exceptionally well, Mr. Wilkins. You were quite correct that this young girl is something special. She is quite intelligent and displays a measure of knowledge and understanding one would be hard-pressed to find in a girl twice her age."

"Splendid. Anything new on her plans for the future?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. She seems determined not to go to college. In fact I have no idea what she plans to do with herself once she has finished High School. The girl is quite reserved, I fear."

"I am saddened to hear this. A girl as bright as Ms. Summers should concentrate fully on her future."

"Sir, if I may: If you were to tell Ms. Summers that you are sponsoring her education, maybe she would..."

"Out of the question, Ms. Burg. It wouldn't do for a man in my position to be seen favouring one girl over all the others who could benefit from a better education. No, our arrangement must remain strictly confidential for now."

"Very well, sir. I will keep you apprised."

"You do that, Ms. Burg. And now I won't be bothering you any longer. Enjoy the holidays."

"Thank you, sir. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

Richard put down the phone, pondering what he had learned. It seemed the young Ms. Summers was determined not to be distracted by such things as her future education. Also, one thing Burg had mentioned tugged at his mind. She displays knowledge of a girl twice her age, Burg had said.

When the vampire called Mr. Trick had encountered the Slayer and Angelus, he had said that the blonde girl felt like a blood junky, one who had been drinking her master's blood for decades. Only that wasn't possible as Ms. Summers was not even eighteen yet and had known Angelus for less than three years. It was an enigma that kept him puzzled.

"What happened to you and Angelus, Ms. Summers?" he asked himself.

Musing on this some more, he finally shock his head. He was not going to solve this tonight and there were better ways to spend the holidays than to plot the inevitable destruction of one's enemies. He could do that after New Year's.

"Let's see, where is my to-do list?"

Rummaging through his desk, he silently lamented the fact that Allan, his deputy, was already enjoying his holiday. Oh, it was well-deserved, Allan had worked hard. Still, Allan always seemed to be the only one who remembered where he'd put that damn list.

Finally finding it, he double-checked what preparations he had to accomplish before the year was out. The really important things wouldn't happen for several months yet, but the devil was always in the details. Everything had to be a hundred percent right or a century of planning, scheming, conspiring, killing, and maiming would all be for naught. Which wouldn't do.

Thinking of his plan always made him think of something else these days. Someone else, rather.

Unwillingly his mind flashed back nearly a century. Back then Sunnydale had been little more than half a dozen wooden buildings flanking a railway station. He had been young then, already a wizard, but still mortal and quite naïve in some ways.

"Don't look so moody, Dick," a ghost voice from his memories said. "It is Christmas after all."

Closing his eyes, Richard could almost see the person who had uttered these words back then.

"Can't help it, Sebastian," he remembered replying. "You do realise that this will be our last Christmas as god-fearing Christian men with any hope of ever finding our way into the Lord's Heaven, right?"

He remembered Sebastian's cheeky smile. "The Lord be praised, but if everything works out we will never have to fear him again. We will make our own Heaven here on Earth, Dick."

Their shared smile was burned into his memory. By then he had already known that the Ascension would only benefit one of them, not both. And considering Sebastian's attack on him some mere weeks later, he was quite certain that his old friend had also known about it on that Christmas Eve.

Two old friends, sharing a smile, knowing that one would soon have to kill the other.

"When did we learn to lie so convincingly, Sebastian?" he wondered out loud. "And what does it say about us as people that neither of us ever really considered the life of our best friend to be worth more than a shot at immortality?"

He shook his head, banishing those gloomy thoughts. Less than half a year until his Big Day. A century of planning, scheming, and killing would soon come to an end and he would be the most powerful being on this world. Soon.

Sebastian wouldn't stop him. Not now.

"Need to take care of that, too," he muttered, adding a fresh point to his to-do list. There was no fixed date to it, but he made a mental note to make it ASAP.

Kill Sebastian Khan.

Nodding, he put away his list and picked up his coat and briefcase. It was the holidays after all. Time to get into the spirit of the season.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Cordelia

**Part 3: Cordelia**

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„So who's left on your list?"

Cordelia looked on as Faith crossed a name off her list and quickly scanned the leftovers. They had spent the last two hours at the mall, trying to get the largest number of presents possible on a limited budget. It was a new experience for Cordelia, who usually never had to worry about money. But Faith insisted on buying everything on her own dime, so limited budget it was.

"Well, there is just Mrs. S and the Bookman left. And... well, you."

"Oh, you're getting me a Christmas present?" Cordelia asked, genuinely surprised. There were times she still didn't quite consider herself a member of this very strange group that persisted in calling itself after a cartoon dog. Usually the only ones giving her gifts were her parents or whatever boyfriend she had right now. Of course the last to have given her a gift had been Xander on that fateful Valentine's day. The less said about that the better.

Faith looked up at Cordelia, puzzled.

"Of course you get a present, CC. I thought the whole point of this thing was to give presents."

Cordelia frowned, once again reminded that she and Faith had more in common than their hair colour. Faith had never outright said anything, but Cordelia was smart enough to realise that parental affection was not something Faith had ever enjoyed. Neither had she, for that matter, but at least her parents had tried making up for it by giving her a platinum credit card.

"Yeah, well," she tried to brush it off, "after what happened a few weeks ago I... I kinda got the impression that you were no longer all that fond of me."

Faith stiffened, her memories undoubtedly flashing back to whatever had happened to her during that brief change in history when the whole world had gone to Hell. As far as Cordelia knew Faith had not told anyone what had happened to her during that time, but she had been extremely upset and taken it out of Cordelia's hide.

"Yeah, I... fuck, CC, I don't do this whole thing well, you know?"

"Thing?"

"Yeah, the one where I admit that I screwed up, you know? It's just... it was... bad, okay? Real bad. And you caused it."

Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, but Faith raised her hand. "I know you didn't mean to, CC, really. I got that through my thick head, okay? But you were the most convenient target since that Anyanka bitch wasn't there for me to kill. So I took it out on you. Shouldn't have."

Figuring that this was as close to an apology as Faith was likely to give (and not that she had expected one in the first place), Cordy instead focused on Faith's words earlier.

"You never said what happened to you in Hell," she probed. "Wanna talk about it?"

Faith apparently considered it for a moment, giving Cordelia time to ponder the strangeness of this whole conversation. Here she was, the bitch queen of Sunnydale High, and she was trying to give some peace of mind to a troubled girl. Then again, it was as much for her own peace of mind as for Faith's, really. After all, intentional or not, it had been her wish that had consigned the world to Hell. The fact that she had somehow managed to fix what she had wrought was little help to those who retained memories from that time.

"B ever tell you how it felt the first time she sensed a vamp?" Faith asked.

The question took Cordy by surprise. What did that have to do with anything?

"Ah, no. We never really did bond all that much. We had this whole mutual hatred thing going before she went to Hell and afterwards, well... we didn't talk that much."

Faith just nodded at that, then continued.

"Well, when you're still new to the whole Slayer gig, it's kinda overwhelming. The first time I sensed a vamp, shortly after I was called, I puked my guts out, the feeling was so intense. It's like someone hitting you in the guts with a big hammer or something."

Cordelia frowned, trying to figure where Faith was going with this.

"It takes time to get used to it," the Slayer continued. "These days it's little more than a tingle, really. Guess it's kinda like when you live in a place where the toilet stinks. After a while you don't notice the stink anymore."

"So...," Cordelia started.

Faith looked at her, her dark eyes troubled.

"I was called as the Slayer when that Kendra chick died, CC," Faith said. "Which was just hours before the entire world went to Hell in that screwy world that wish bitch created."

It took Cordy a few moments, but then she understood. If a single vampire could make a newly called Slayer puke her guts out through sensory overload, then the entire world being swallowed into a demon-infested hell mere hours after Faith was called couldn't have been all that nice. Hell was the home of thousands, probably millions of demons.

"I'm so sorry, Faith," Cordelia simply said, aware how inadequate that sounded.

Faith just shrugged. "Like I said, not your fault. Not really. I'd rather forget about it, okay?"

Cordelia nodded, understanding. The memories of that other Cordelia, the one who'd been tortured at the hands of Angelus himself for over a century, still sometimes floated to the surface and gave her nightmares. She was doing her best to ignore them. That hadn't been her, after all. These things hadn't happened to her.

In the small hours of the morning when the sweat was flowing freely down her body and she couldn't keep from shivering those words were but small comfort.

"So," Cordelia said loudly. "What do you plan on getting for Giles?"

Faith visibly perked up, the change in topic obviously okay with her.

"Oh, I had this wicked idea. Come on!"

Cordelia just followed the whirlwind that was the Slayer until they arrived at a shop selling posters and trading cards. Faith stormed inside and rummaged through the shells until she found what she sought.

"What is that?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"I saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show in Boston once."

"So?"

"I really loved it and did some digging. And there is this one guy who once played Frank N. Furter."

"Again, so?"

Faith, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, unrolled the poster she'd gotten and Cordelia saw a large picture of Frank N. Furter as portrayed by one Anthony Steward Head, who bore a remarkable resemblance to one stuffy British librarian. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, Giles is going to love this!"

TO BE CONTINUED

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_Author's Note: Just in case you don't know, Anthony Stewart Head, the actor who portrays Rupert Giles, also once played Frank N. Further in the Rocky Horror Picture Show._


End file.
